Psalms 49:12

49:12 but, despite their wealth, people do not last, ¹ 

they are like animals ²  that perish. ³ 

Job 21:32

21:32 And when he is carried to the tombs,

and watch is kept ⁴  over the funeral mound, ⁵ 

Ezekiel 31:14

31:14 For this reason no watered trees will grow so tall; their tops will not reach into the clouds, nor will the well-watered ones grow that high. ⁶  For all of them have been appointed to die in the lower parts of the earth; ⁷  they will be among mere mortals, ⁸  with those who descend to the pit.

¹ tn Heb “but mankind in honor does not remain.” The construction vav (ו) + noun at the beginning of the verse can be taken as contrastive in relation to what precedes. The Hebrew term יְקָר (yÿqar, “honor”) probably refers here to the wealth mentioned in the preceding context. The imperfect verbal form draws attention to what is characteristically true. Some scholars emend יָלִין (yalin, “remains”) to יָבִין (yavin, “understands”) but this is an unnecessary accommodation to the wording of v. 20.

² tn Or “cattle.”

³ tn The verb is derived from דָּמָה (damah, “cease; destroy”; BDB 198 s.v.). Another option is to derive the verb from דָּמָה (“be silent”; see HALOT 225 s.v. II דמה, which sees two homonymic roots [דָּמָה, “be silent,” and דָּמָה, “destroy”] rather than a single root) and translate, “they are like dumb beasts.” This makes particularly good sense in v. 20, where the preceding line focuses on mankind’s lack of understanding.

⁴ tn The verb says “he will watch.” The subject is unspecified, so the translation is passive.

⁵ tn The Hebrew word refers to the tumulus, the burial mound that is erected on the spot where the person is buried.

⁶ tn Heb “and they will not stand to them in their height, all the drinkers of water.”

⁷ tn Heb “for death, to the lower earth.”

⁸ tn Heb “the sons of men.”